Brand new vitola sent to me as a bonus when I got a bundle of Umbagogs from small batch. Heavily box pressed but seductively smooth, the wrapper and foot smell like walking into a high quality shop’s humidor. Absolutely perfect cold draw. Tonight’s beverage is a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

First few puffs past the butane purge have a very woody flavor, kind of like shopping for lumber at Home Depot. Billows of woody smoke; not what I was expecting but still very good.

Of the woods, cedar is dominant with perhaps mesquite not far behind. There is also a touch of rum in the retrohale. A very complex cigar that is a very good smoke.

By one third I am convinced that this is a very good cigar. It burns even, it doesn’t have hot patches and the construction is immaculate. Perhaps not the perfect match with an IPA, but still a great smoke.

I am most satisfied by the happy little clouds of smoke I get from every draw. Even the retrohale reflects the woody nature of the cigar. It’s kind of a nice change of pace to not have to chase down every flavor note in a cigar with this level of complexity.

A bit of leather smoking chair and a light white pepper note in the retrohale keep the cigar very interesting. The burn continues to be perfect. The ash is firm but taps off easily enough that I am not ashing on myself.

You know a cigar is good when you neglect your beverage for the cigar. During the second third the cedar and leather continue to blend perfectly with the light pepper in the retrohale as an added bonus.

The bands peeled off quite easily and did no wrapper damage, another plus. This is a very good medium bodied cigar. Deep draws are rewarded with excellent flavor and retrohale. I t is also smoking very slowly and cool.

The burn continues to be perfect, another tribute to the excellent construction of the cigar. I found the somewhat extreme box press as a challenge at first but it is top notch.

Approaching the final inch coffee notes emerge to further enhance the complex flavor of this cigar. I have smoked a lot of really good cigars lately and this one is definitely holding its own. 9.5/10 for this excellent cigar. Joe Bob says check it out.